WHO Ebola emergency escalates as DRC outbreak spreads

A deadly Ebola outbreak has been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), centred around mining communities near the borders of Uganda and South Sudan, regions characterised by high levels of cross-border movement. Health officials in Africa have confirmed at least 220 deaths, along with 82 laboratory-confirmed cases and 900 suspected cases.

Amid the wider response to the outbreak, US media reports suggest that at least six American nationals have been exposed, placing the global travel, tourism, and assistance sectors on alert. One case has tested positive and several others have been assessed as high-risk contacts. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is assisting with the safe withdrawal of affected citizens as part of ongoing response efforts and has introduced enhanced screening and temporary travel restrictions for arrivals from the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan.

Unlike previous Ebola outbreaks in the DRC linked to the Zaire strain, for which licensed vaccines such as Merck’s Ervebo are available, the current outbreak involves the rarer Bundibugyo virus, which currently has no approved vaccine or targeted treatment.

The World Health Organization has since classified the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), while stopping short of declaring a pandemic emergency and advising against international travel or trade restrictions at this stage.

The announcement was prompted by the report of two new laboratory-confirmed cases of Ebola in Kampala, Uganda, on 15 and 16 May, including one death. 

The criteria for announcing a PHEIC requires an outbreak to represent a public health risk to other states, which the virus's spread to Uganda constitutes.

There is also increasing concern among health officials that the true scale of the outbreak could be significantly larger than current figures suggest because surveillance in the affected region has been hampered by conflict, population displacement, and delayed reporting.

The WHO also confirmed that it plans to organise an emergency committee to further tackle the Ebola outbreak in the near future.

Abasse Asgaraly, Founder and Principal Consultant at KMB Consulting, commented: “Ebola outbreaks have been an unfortunate learning process for most of the large assistance organisations. They have learned how to handle, isolate, and, most importantly, transport these patients on long distances for medical treatments.

“This has helped us to be better prepared during [the] Covid-19 pandemic. A lot of protocols have been developed during these times.”

The outbreak is likely to prompt renewed scrutiny among travel insurers, medical assistance providers, and multinational employers operating across Africa. Companies may review evacuation protocols, destination risk assessments, and employee travel policies, particularly for essential business travel.